Laksa

Do You Like My Laksa

Laksa is a Malaysian curry which I wasn’t at all familiar with until recently, but when my eldest son Reuben said it was one of his favourites, my ears pricked up immediately. Reuben is an amazing chef, and has an outstanding awareness of flavour profiles (earlier he sent me a picture of his casual Monday evening dinner which was “Turmeric rice and teriyaki cardamon jackfruit with smoked vegan cheese and seaweed caviar” – no joke). He is also an aspiring musician, so as his mother I feel obliged to post one of his videos below, if you would care to listen.

But back to Laksa! Reuben did not let us down, Laksa could well be the most delicious combination of everything that is good in Asian cuisine, and this raw vegan version could well be the most delicious concoction you ever tasted in raw vegan cuisine. There are a ton of variations on Laksa, but in the main it seems to be a turmeric coconut broth with noodles, chicken and bean sprouts.

If you have ever made one of my recipes and loved it, then please make this, and tell me that it’s not your new favourite.

(Please note, this recipe just makes a single serving, so please multiply it up by however many lucky people you would love to feed.)

It’s not as hard as it looks, trust me. Basically, all you have to do is blend the broth and spiralize a courgette, but let’s break it down.

Spiralize the courgette, and put it in your bowl. Place the bean sprouts in the bowl next to the noodles. Slice the coconut meat into thin strips, and put it in a separate bowl with the sesame oil, tamari, and Baobab. Give it a little toss around so it’s coated. Finely chop the coriander leaf.

Juice the lime. Peel the garlic. Chop the lemongrass stick. Slice the chilli in half, remove the seeds, then wash your hands really well with soap. Heat the water in a kettle (I use a temperature control kettle and heat the water to 80 deg C rather than boiling it). Put every one of those broth ingredients together in the blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.

Take your marinated coconut meat and put it in the bowl with the noodles and bean sprouts. Pour the broth over the top, and garnish with the coriander leaf. Eat immediately, while warm.